Meshes of The Afternoon- Color Reflection

For the further analysis of the short film “ Meshes of The Afternoon” which was directed in 1943 by Maya Deren, I used colors to analyze and reflect on the emotions, mood and the environment of the short film.

Here The dull chromatic blue-gray background reflects the simplicity of the environment of the short film. The red, sharp, triangle like figures in the above collage show the harsh, male dominated society, that swallows up a innocent woman. The dark blue and mid-tone blue, wave like shapes, indicate the psychosis that was faced by the woman in the film. The shape of the same is inspired by her memory of a beach. The yellow circle that is not affected by the red triangles is the point of hope and an escape from a difficult society. The five ascending (bottom to up) blue rectangles on the left side are an indication of the 5 different versions of the woman in the movie. The order of those are ascending, from bottom to top, as each version of the woman comes closer to what her identity is and how she could escape. Right before the topmost blue rectangle continues to green, there is a black circle, which indicates Death. The green rectangle that continues to the yellow circle, of hope and escape, is the woman’s rejuvenation towards her ray of hope.

The above collage of colors with the same forms as the original indicates a different mood and emotion for the film. The overall lighter tones reflect calmness. The muted teal color for the triangle like forms is not as harsh or scary as the same form in the red color is. the yellow waves instead of blue reflect calmness, positivity and joy with respect of the woman, opposite of what the original blue waves depicted. The very light blue big circle reflects peace. The five green rectangles in ascending order show positive growth. The white dot that appears just before the green rectangle continuing as yellow reflects birth. The yellow rectangle that flows towards the light blue circle of peace shows that the woman in this environment has grown enough to go towards peace in a positive manner.